Unfortunately, the bus terminals are located waaaaay out of town. I was dreading my arrival into Shiraz because I would have to deal with haggling the taxi fare as soon as I got off. BUT...it turned out that there was a French guy on the bus traveling with a bicycle. A brief conversation revealed that A) we were actually staying at the same guest house in Isfahan (backpacker options are quite limited in Iran...), and B) we basically wanted to see the same stuff and had a similar itinerary for the next few days. So, we decided to stick together...and that's how I ended up riding on the middle bar of his bicycle (very uncomfortable and painful for the rear end) from the bus station to the city center.
Shiraz isn't a very pleasant city, but it's the best place to find an excursion to the ancient ruins of Persepolis.
Once we found a decent room (bearable), we went to the one English speaking tour agency in town to arrange a tour for the next day. There's a bus tour to Persepolis every day, but we wanted to see some of the outlying areas and not have to return to Shiraz afterwards. Our only option was to hire our own driver and car, which would cost us about $90 total. Very expensive for Iranian standards. We were being indecisive for a while, when a Swiss girl walked into the agency, inquiring for a similar tour. What timing!!! We all agreed for $30/person.
With that sorted out, the three of us went out for lunch (a DELICIOUS all-you-can-eat salad
buffet for $2.50!!!) and to explore some of the sights in Shiraz for the rest of the afternoon.Some of the main attractions we saw included the Arg of Karim Kahn (an ex-prison & fortress gone slightly crooked with not much of interest inside) and the tomb of the poet Hafez (I personally am not aware of any of his works). The Iranians must've really loved this guy – there was an endless stream of people kissing and touching the tomb to pay their respects.
And then there are the mosques, of course. Compared to the mosques in Isfahan, the ones in Shiraz are less grand on the outside and have different colored tiles. Less blue and more pink and yellow. A lot of flowery patterns in them as well.
One of the my most memorable experiences in Iran happened here. We went to a mosque (sorry, I totally forgot the name of it!) accessible only to Muslims. Under normal circumstances, I would respect the religion and leave it at that. But I REALLY wanted to go inside this one, known for its amazing interiors. So, I had no choice but to be a Muslim. Wearing a burka (rentals available at the entry for free), I walked in as an Indonesian Muslim (Hey, I was dark enough!) while my friend was a Serbian Muslim. Guys have a separate entrance so I don't know how he managed to enter...I must say that the little white lie was worth it. The inside of this mosque was completely covered in mirrors. I've never seen anything like it. Breathtakingly beautiful!!! No photos, though, because I came to pray.
I could've spent hours in there, just sitting around and admiring the mirror-work. With the burka on, we sort of blended in...but obviously we didn't know how to do the prayer thing. We started to get a bit uncomfortable when a couple of girls came up to us and starting chatting, offering to take us to the central area where the tomb was (of whom, I have no clue). We followed and saw the devout Muslims kissing, tenderly touching, and crying around it. I did a little bit of the touching and walked out. I didn’t belong there... Before I left, I managed to snap a very quick photo (hence the blur).
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